.....and the rain rain rain came down down down.......
So, though I was sad to say goodbye to my off road speed machine, the time had come. The tour had come to an end, and mother nature was definitely encouraging us not to linger. Some super dark clouds had rolled in during the last 20-30 minutes, as well as some impressive lightning and deafening thunder.
Lisa presented us with photos she had taken at the start of the trip. I've seen reference to people being charged for these, but we were not. They were given to us free and clear. I did give her a hefty tip at the end. I would have tipped anyway, but she also helped me backtrack and find my Nalgene bottle along the path, as it had bounced out of my backpack during one of the speed demon sessions. So, since she saved me the hassle and cost of buying a new water bottle, I added that into her tip.
The same taxi and driver were waiting for us upon our return to the base camp. We all piled back in and headed back toward Bay Street. At the intersection where Bay Street seems to dead end, traffic was at a standstill. Everyone else wanted to get off and walk back, so I somewhat reluctantly agreed. I tried to keep within sight of everyone (a) because I had no idea where, exactly, I was going and (b) because I'd promised just about everyone from my kids to my grandfather and everyone in between that I would **not** do exactly what I was doing right this very instant. (And I'm a good Catholic, so I am capable of feeling guilt on a dime.)
It wasn't long, though, in the hustle and bustle, that I lost sight of them all. By this time, I had a general idea of where I was headed, though, so I was less freaked.
I meandered over to Senor Frogs to buy the aforementioned T-shirt for my husband. And by the time I was in and out of the gift shop, it had begun to sprinkle. That lasted a few minutes - just long enough for me to wander over to the big white tent. I walked through and though "Oh! How fortuitous, there are t-shirts here!" and then it struck me (thought, not lightning) - THIS is the infamous Straw Market!
Again, I hadn't really intended to come here, but I figured eh, I'm already here, may as well look around.
It was about that time that the skies opened up and it rained and rained and rained and rained and.... Well, you get the idea. Water was literally running through the market. Vendors with booths near the edges were rushing to pull the tarps shut. It became very stuffy in there very quickly, and I wasn't really so happy about it. But, I had stopped to speak with a lady who looked nice (I'm such an informed consumer
) about some shirts for the kids. Thankfully she WAS as kind as she looked, because I proceeded to take an inordinate amount of time examining her shirts. Really? I was trying to take some deep breaths and NOT freak out about the suddenly stifling heat, humidity, enclosed space, mobs of people and foreign land. I felt like I was trapped in there, will all the sides closed up. Suddenly I could hear every baby crying (holy COW were there a lot of babies in there), every radio blaring, every SINGLE person talking, and smell every smell.
Having something to focus on - even something as simple as t-shirts for my babes - gave my mind something else to think about INSTEAD of the Denzel Washington movie scene I was composing in my head where he's calling my husband to say I've gone missing, apparently kidnapped in the Straw Market, with only my camera in a ziplock bag to prove I'd ever been there. (Oh, and in my movie scene? My husband valiantly says "Whatever the ransom is, we'll pay it. I can't live without her!" Because, hey, if I'm going to suffer through a kidnapping like that, I can have that hope to cling to, right?)
So, I regroup, pick out three shirts (because I can't NOT give this woman some business, for goodness sake! In my movie dream, she was critical to helping identify my kidnappers!!) and try to get out of there.
Problem - no one was all that interested in opening up the tarp - even just a teeny little bit - to let me out. After I asked in three places, and was denied each time, I headed to the next seam I could find and marched myself through it into the torrential downpour. I heard a few "You crazy, Lady!" refrains in my wake, but I didn't care.
And never, in all my life, had buckets of rain felt so good!!!!
Crazy, indeed.
And since I was already wet, and I knew my things were all safely inside trash bags (wrapped around my backpack) and ziplock bags (inside my back pack), I figured, why not do a little puddle jumping?
So, I splished and splashed my way back to festival plaza. I walked in water rushing down the sidewalk, I jumped in puddles standing in the road, I sloshed through flooded walkways, taking care to avoid as much cover as possible. By the time I made it back to the boat, I was SOAKED. How much fun is that?!?!
I mean, once you're wet, you're wet. May as well have fun with it, right?
HANDY TIP #12 - Lands' End Mary Jane Trekker shoes? FABULOUS for all your wet shoe needs.
I'm a woman who can appreciate a shoe's specific calling in life, and these things? They were made for all your slippery rock climbing/puddle jumping/escaping from imagined kidnapper needs.
So, I slip slided my way up the ramp and stopped there to dig out my KTTW and ID. The security CM just kind of looked at me sideways as he swiped my card, so I grinned and said "Good day for puddle jumping, don't you think?" He bust out laughing and said "Yes, Ma'am, I suppose it is!"
I took myself and my squeaky waterlogged shoes back up to my room to change because, besides being WET, I was also COLD. This was no warm Bahamian rain, I'll tell you what.
So, I let myself in, and was immediately torn between two basic needs - food and sleep. The bed looked SOOO inviting (and WARM) but I was also starving. Since it didn't look like I'd be getting any sun time in today (which was my original plan for the afternoon, I took the opportunity to order room service (steak sandwich, fruit - have I mentioned I'm anemic and crave red meat???), snuggle up under the covers, and watch Coraline. When I first checked out my stateroom, I noticed it was on the rotation. I was thankful for this, because my kids have been BEGGING me to get it on DVD. I thought it looked creepy, though, so I was kind of holding them off until I could find a way to watch it first. WOW
Glad I did. That movie will NOT be finding a place in my home. Did I mention, WOW?!?!
I also managed to sneak a nap in (mostly because after about 45 minutes of that movie? I'd seen enough). I had decided earlier that I wasn't going to see the Toy Story show. (I was purposely NOT doing some things that I knew my kids would love so we could experience them together for the first time.) This allowed me to have a pretty restful/stress free afternoon. I leisurely woke up around 5:30, feeling refreshed (and warm!). I decided to get up and get moving. Hotel for Dogs was on (such a cute movie!), so it kept me company while I showered and prepared for my evening ahead.
Up Next: A Bottle of Rum and a Yo Ho Ho...yes, in that order.
Thanks for reading along!!! I definitely recommend the Segway tour at least once!!
